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Nov. 22, 1955 A. G. ROSE ET AL TRANSFER MECHANISM FOR WRAPPING MACHINES Filed Spt. 21, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor 4 /9250 emu/w RM:

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TRANSFER MECHANISM FOR WRAPPING MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 21, 195) HINT-ll! FIG.6.

United States Patent TRANSFER MECHANISM FOR WRAPPING MACHINES Alfred German Rose and Joseph Arthur Gilbert, Gainsborough, England, assignors to Rose Brothers (Gainsborough) Limited, Gainsborough, England, a British company Application September 21, 1951, Serial No. 247,694 Claims priority, application Great Britain October 3, 1950 4 Claims. (Cl. 198-24) This invention relates to wrapping machines of the kind in which the articles to be wrapped are conveyed in separate pockets of a pocketed conveyor to a transfer station where the articles are transferred in succession from the conveyor to a pocketed wrapping member (e. g., a mould wheel) by a reciprocating pusher arranged to move transversely of the path of movement of the articles so as to pass through the pockets of the conveyor. The conveyor and the wrapping member are arranged for intermittent movement in timed relationship with each other and the transfer of the articles takes place while the conveyor and wrapping member are for the time being at rest. The rate of operation of this type of machine is thus necessarily limited by the rate at which the pusher can be operated, and this, in turn, is limited (particularly when dealing with frangible or friable articles such as blocks of frozen ice-cream) by the possibility of damage to the articles.

An object of the invention is to provide for an increased rate of operation of the machine for a given rate of operation of the pusher.

According to the invention, there is provided a wrapping machine of the kind referred to, wherein the pusher is moved during its return stroke in the direction of movement of the conveyor and at substantially the same rate so as to be withdrawn through the pocket of the conveyor while the next succeeding article is being moved by the conveyor to the transfer station. In this manner, movement of the conveyor can be recommenced as soon as the transferring of the article is completed which allows the next succeeding article to reach the transfer station at the same time as or slightly before the pusher commences its next transferring stroke, lost time thus being reduced to a minimum.

The pusher may be pivotally mounted on an arm arranged to be oscillated by an eccentric to give the reciprocating movement, the pusher being guided by a cross-head in which slides a rectangular block pivotally attached to an arm extending from the pusher. The cross-head is also pivotally mounted on an arm arranged to be rocked by a rotatable cam during the return stroke of the pusher to bring about the movement of the pusher in the direction of movement of the conveyor, the crosshead being similarly provided with a pivoted rectangular block arranged to slide in a stationary guideway.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, as applied to a machine for wrapping blocks of frozen ice-cream.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevation of part of the machine, showing the transfer station,

Figure 2 is a similar view in section, taken on the line 22 in Figure 3,

Figure 3 is a plan of the apparatus shown in Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a sectional plan taken on the line 4-4 in Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3, showing the mechanism in a different position of operation, and

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Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating the movement of the pusher.

Referring to the drawings, blocks 11 of ice-cream are carried towards a transfer station in individual pockets 12 of a conveyor chain 13 supported on chain wheels 14(one only shown). The chain wheel 14 is driven intermittently by Geneva mechanism 16, 17 connected through spur gears 18, 19, and bevel gears 21, 22 to a main driving shaft 23.

'At the transfer station, the blocks 11 are removed in succession from the pockets 12 by a pusher 24 which pushes each block along a supporting platform 26 and into the waiting pocket 27 of a mould wheel 28, a wrapper 29 being fed in the meantime across the path of the block so as to be fed with the block into the pocket 27. The block is then carried by the mould wheel 28 through a series of wrapping stations to complete the wrapping of the blockin known manner.

The pusher 24 is constituted by the termination of an arm 31 freely mounted at 32 on an operating arm 33 pivotally mounted'on a stationary shaft 34 secured in a bearing bracket 35 secured to a main housing 36. The arm 31 is formed with an extension 37 on which is pivotally mounted a guiding block 38 arranged to slide in a cross-head 39. The operating arm 33 is pivotally connected at 41 to an eccentric sheath 42 mounted on an eccentric 43 secured to the main shaft 23.

The cross-head 39 is carried by an arm 44 pivotally attached at 46 to an operating lever 47 pivotally mounted on the shaft 34. The lever 47 carries a cam roller 48 arranged to bear in the groove 49 of a rotatable cam 51 secured to the main shaft 23. Pivotally mounted on the arm 44 is a guiding block 52 arranged to slide in a stationary guideway 53 secured to the housing 36.

It will thus be seen that the movement of the pusher 24 is controlled by two distinct mechanisms operating in timed relationship. One of these is constituted by the eccentric 43 rocking the arm 33 about the pivot 34 to cause the pusher to move towards the conveyor 13, the block 38 (pivotally connected to the pusher arm 31 by the extension 37) sliding in the crosshead 39 to guide the pusher. The second mechanism is constituted by the cam 51 rocking the arm 47 about the pivot 34 to cause the arm 44 (carrying the crosshead 39) to be moved in a direction generally parallel to that of movement of the conveyor 13, the arm 44 being guided during such movement by the sliding of its pivoted block 5'2 in the stationary guideway 53.

In Figure 3, the pusher 24 is shown about to commence its forward straight line movement while the conveyor 13 is stationary, while in Figure 5, the pusher 24 is shown having performed its operative movement and returning through the pocket 12 of the conveyor 13. Figure 6 illustrates the complete motion of the pusher 24, the operative stroke being shown in dotted lines and the return stroke in full lines.

The Geneva mechanism 16 and 17, the eccentric 43 and the cam 54 are so timed that, in operation, the pusher 24 first moves under the influence of the eccentric 43 in a straight path determined by the cross-head 39 (which for the time being remains stationary) to transfer the block 11 at the transfer station to the mould wheel 28, the conveyor 13 having come to rest as the pusher 24 commenced its movement. The pusher 24 then commences its return movement, whereupon the conveyor moves to bring the next block 11 to the transfer station, and during this movement, the cross-head 39 is moved by the cam 51 to cause the pusher to move laterally in the same direction as the conveyor 13 so as to be withdrawn from the pocket 12 while the conveyor is in motion, the cross-head 39 then moving the pusher 24 once more into register with the pocket 12 for the time being at the transfer station.

In this manner, the rest period of the conveyor 13 need be no more than the time required for the pusher 24 to perform'its operative stroke.

We claim:

1. In a wrapping machine of the kind in which the articles to be wrapped are conveyed in separate pockets of an intermittently movable conveyor to a transfer station, a transfer mechanism comprising a pivoted arm, a pusher pivotally mounted on said arm, means for oscillating said arm in timed relationship with the conveyor so as to cause it to move the pusher in a direction substantially at right angles to the conveyor through the pocket of the conveyor for the time being at rest at the transfer station, a cross-head, guiding means pivotally mounted on the pusher and arranged to slide in the cross-head, and means for moving the cross-head in the same direction and substantially at the same rate as the conveyor, the pusher moving means and the cross-head moving means being so timed that the pusher is caused to move in the direction of movement of the conveyor during its return stroke.

2. In a wrapping machine of the kind in which the articles to be wrapped are conveyed in separate pockets of an intermittently movable conveyor to a transfer station, a transfer mechanism comprising a pusher, means for actuating the pusher in timed relationship with the conveyor, guiding means for causing the pusher to move in a direction substantially at right angles to the conveyor in a substantially straight path through the pocket of the conveyor for the time being at rest at the transfer station, said guiding means comprising a crosshead movable in timed relationship with the conveyor and means pivotally mounted on the pusher and adapted to slide in the crosshead, and means for moving the guiding means during the return stroke of the pusher to cause the pusher to move in the direction of movement of the conveyor and at substantially the same rate so as to be withdrawn through the pocket of the conveyor through which it has passed While the next succeeding pocket is being moved to the transfer station.

3. Apparatus as in claim 2, wherein the pusher actuating means comprises an arm on which the pusher is pivotally mounted, and means for oscillating the arm.

4. Apparatus as in claim 3, wherein the oscillating means comprises a rotatable eccentric.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,620,608 Smith Dec. 9, 1952 

